A new plan to further reduce, refine and replace the use of animals
in research and regulatory testing commonly referred to as the 3Rs was
unveiled today at a symposium marking the 10-year anniversary of
the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative
Methods (ICCVAM). The plan identifies priority areas for
research, development, translation, and validation activities necessary
to achieve regulatory acceptance of alternative test methods. A
cornerstone of the federal government's five-year plan is
the formation of partnerships with industry and other national
and international stakeholders to achieve measurable progress.

"ICCVAM has a proven track record of thoroughly
reviewing test methods and has established an excellent blueprint
for advancing the 3Rs, and for advancing the health
and safety of our nation as well," said Marilyn
Wind, Ph.D., deputy associate executive director of the Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the chair, ICCVAM. Wind
was one of many scientists, public attendees, advocates, media
and invited guests participating in a scientific symposium celebrating
the 10-year anniversary of ICCVAM in Bethesda, Md., where the
plan was released. ICCVAM is a permanent interagency committee
composed of representatives from 15 federal regulatory and research
agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
that use, generate or disseminate toxicological information.
ICCVAM promotes the development, validation, and regulatory acceptance
of scientifically sound new, revised, and alternative testing
methods that protect human and animal health and the environment.

Traditionally, chemicals, consumer products, medical
devices and new drugs are tested on animals to predict toxicity
on humans, but scientists, like those involved in ICCVAM, are
working to promote the development and validation of alternative
test methods. Alternative test methods are those that
accomplish one or more of the 3Rs of reducing the number
of animals used in testing, or refining procedures so animals
experience less pain and distress, or replacinganimals
with non-animal systems.

William Stokes, D.V.M., director of NICEATM, the NTP office at
the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
that administers ICCVAM, highlighted some of the progress made
since ICCVAM was formed, including the fact that ICCVAM
has evaluated more than185 test methods http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/methods/methodsSum.htm since
its inception in 1997. Many of these methods need further
development and validation before they are ready for regulatory
consideration. However, several are now in widespread use
around the world for routine safety testing, resulting in notable
reduction and refinement of animal use. "We've
made great progress in the past decade, and with the help of our
partners we can do even more to increase the pace of developing
and introducing alternative methods." Stokes,
who is also an Assistant Surgeon General in the U.S. Public Health
Service Commissioned Corps explained that ICCVAM itself does not
conduct research but carefully evaluates alternative test methods
brought forth by government and industry labs and makes recommendations
about their usefulness to federal regulatory agencies.

"We appreciate all of the public input we've
received to develop this plan and look forward to working closely
with our government and non-government stakeholders to promote
good science and validation studies that will support the regulatory
use of alternative methods," said Stokes. "By incorporating
recent advances in science and technology, new alternative test
methods can be developed that will benefit animal welfare by
reducing, refining, and replacing animal use, and that will benefit
public health by ensuring continued or improved protection of
human and animal health and the environment."

Stokes said ICCVAM will emphasize the use of new
technologies to develop predictive systems that would be less
reliant or not at all reliant on animals. Technologies
touted by the National Research Council and the NTP, including
high throughput screening techniques that can screen large numbers
of potentially hazardous chemicals at one time and toxicogenomics,
for example, will be studied and incorporated where they can
to provide more accurate and timely public health decisions.

Stokes said a high priority for ICCVAM will be
to focus on evaluating alternatives to test methods that use
a large number of animals or that can involve significant pain
and stress, including safety tests for ocular (eye) injuries,
dermal (skin) damage, acute poisoning and tests for biologics
such as vaccines. Additional priorities include safety tests
to determine if products and chemicals may cause other adverse
health effects such as cancer, birth defects, infertility and
allergic responses.

The five-year plan was developed over a 12-month period with multiple
opportunities for input, including a public Town Meeting held in
June 2006. The NICEATM-ICCVAM Five-Year Plan is available
electronically at http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/docs/5yearplan.htm (If
you have problems accessing this document, please contact Cheryl
Thompson, 919-541-3345).

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) is an interagency program
established in 1978 by the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare,
which today is known as the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. The program was created as a cooperative effort to coordinate
toxicology testing programs within the federal government, strengthen
the science base in toxicology, develop and validate improved testing
methods, and provide information about potentially toxic chemicals
to health, regulatory, and research agencies, scientific and medical
communities, and the public. The NTP is headquartered at the NIEHS.
For additional information, visit http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov.

The
National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov.